In the northern area of the first floor stood a tower three hundred meters in diameter and one hundred meters tall.
This was the first floor's labyrinth area.
At the moment, Asuna had already arrived in front of the door to the staircase room leading from this floor to the second.
She stared blankly at a monster that should not have existed in this room.
It was a kobold more than two meters tall, named Illfang the Kobold Lord. Beside it stood three kobold guards.
As the boss monster of this floor, it should have already been slain and should no longer exist. Yet now, it had respawned and was blocking the way.
Of course, that did not mean other players had to defeat it again if they wanted to reach the second floor. Teleport Gates existed, allowing players to move conveniently between cleared floors.
The reason they had not gone to the Teleport Gate was that there were too many players in the Teleport Gate plaza. If Mr. Kain went there, it might cause unnecessary trouble, so they had chosen to take the stairs instead.
They had encountered other players on the way here, but those players had all ignored them and continued on their own routes.
Now, however, a boss had actually respawned to block their path.
Correction—it was not that Asuna had not expected it. She had anticipated that this might happen.
But until she saw it with her own eyes, she had still held on to a faint hope.
From the look of things, if Mr. Kain wanted to reach the hundredth floor, he really would have to fight his way up floor by floor.
As for Teleport Gates, Kayaba Akihiko would definitely restrict him from using them.
What should she do?
Should she step in and help?
Would the kobold in front of them be the same as the one from over a year ago? Or had it been strengthened?
While Asuna was thinking, her vision blurred. By the time she focused again, Kain had already moved.
Bang!
A tremendous impact rang out.
The Kobold Lord's huge body flew backward like a cannonball and slammed hard into the wall behind it, shaking the entire room.
At the same time, the Kobold Lord's body shattered like porcelain the moment it hit the wall, dissolving into countless motes of data-light.
Just like that, it had been killed in one hit?
By the time Asuna came back to herself, the other three guards had also been sent flying by a sweeping kick from Mr. Kain, meeting the same fate as the Kobold Lord.
"Let's go."
"Ah? Right."
Asuna immediately hurried forward.
Although Mr. Kain knew information about this world, there was no way he could know the detailed layout of SAO's floors. Where each monster was located, which routes to take—he certainly could not know those things better than Asuna, who had spent more than two years trapped in this world.
That meant she had to lead the way and guide him quickly to the staircase to the next floor.
And so—
The second-floor boss was killed instantly.
The third-floor boss was also killed instantly.
The fourth-floor boss was still killed instantly.
The fifth-floor boss was killed instantly again.
By now, Asuna could also confirm that these monsters had all been strengthened.
Even though she was currently a high-level player, when she helped deal with the small mobs on the fifth floor, she keenly sensed that enemies of that strength probably belonged around the twentieth floor.
Naturally, news that the cleared bosses had reappeared quickly spread.
One of the girls on Asuna's friend list, a player with the ID "Lisbeth," told her about it.
It seemed all the boss monsters from the cleared floors had revived.
This abnormal situation caused quite a few people to panic. Others began preparing to launch probing attacks against the revived bosses.
Regarding that, Asuna immediately warned them that the resurrected bosses had also been strengthened and must not be underestimated.
Some high-level players might look down on bosses from lower floors. Others, feeling that their current level and strength should be more than enough, might think they could solo them based on the bosses' old strength, or form a party and take on a small, exciting adventure.
But if they challenged those bosses while preparing for their former strength, they would absolutely wipe.
Next was the sixth floor.
Ah—there were people here!
And judging by the mood in the room, it seemed someone had really underestimated the boss and been killed.
Seeing this, Asuna could only fall silent and continue leading Mr. Kain onward at a quick pace.
"Hm? What's that?"
"Is that a monster too?"
"It has to be. There's a red cursor over its head."
The troublesome situation had finally arrived.
"Everyone, don't act recklessly. This is a character from my special story quest—Lance Plain. His combat level is so high that even I would be killed instantly."
Asuna removed her cloak as she spoke, revealing her face and outfit.
Her clothing was the classic combat uniform style of the Knights of the Blood Oath. Combined with her appearance, people should recognize who she was. That should at least make them listen and keep them from doing anything suicidal.
"That's the Knights of the Blood Oath uniform."
"She's beautiful."
"I know her. That's Miss Asuna, vice commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath."
Everyone seemed less interested in her special story quest and more interested in Asuna herself.
"Sorry, everyone. My quest is extremely time-sensitive. I need to hurry to the upper floors, and I can't use the Teleport Gate."
She did not stop walking as she and Mr. Kain passed through the door and headed up to the next floor, leaving the people behind them to curiously discuss what kind of special quest she had triggered.
That information would definitely spread to the other floors, and it would certainly attract more attention, including from people with bad intentions.
Sure enough, on the following floors, more and more people gradually gathered near the boss rooms.
Some thought the bosses were probably required for Asuna's quest and even kindly stopped others from trying to defeat them. Thanks to that, they continued breaking through floor after floor relatively safely.
In the blink of an eye, they had already cleared the twentieth floor and entered the twenty-first, and the entire process had been almost nothing but long-distance running.
If this were reality, Asuna would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.
But this was a game world, and she managed to keep going by using stamina potions.
Once they passed through the twenty-first floor, they would reach the floor where Asuna's cabin had originally been built.
At present, however, it was no longer just the two of them. Several high-level players were following along as well, which made Asuna very nervous that they might do something rash.
As for the fact that Heathcliff, commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath, was Kayaba Akihiko, Asuna still chose to keep it hidden to prevent someone from angrily confronting him and possibly getting killed.
Putting aside his identity as the GM, Heathcliff himself was currently the strongest player in SAO. No one could beat him.
"Eek!"
Asuna let out a small cry.
She had suddenly been pulled in, and her body lost its balance. The next thing she knew, she was being carried princess-style.
At the same time, the scenery in her field of vision began rushing backward even faster.
The players who had been following them were left behind at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Even Asuna, who specialized in speed, could not move that fast.
That meant Mr. Kain was currently stronger than her.
Well, that was normal, wasn't it? The opponents he usually fought were all monsters.
Even when his consciousness entered a virtual world, he was just as powerful.
Now that she was being carried, and they were about to pass through an outdoor monster zone, this was—
All right. There was nothing to worry about.
Mr. Kain had no intention of fighting those monsters. Instead, they became like moving stepping stones beneath his feet.
He even used the monsters' own force to accelerate.
To steady herself further, reduce the shaking, and keep from making things harder for Mr. Kain, Asuna reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck.
This really was intimate.
It was the first time she had ever been this close to a man.
For a moment, she almost felt a real heartbeat inside her chest, beating faster and faster.
(End of Chapter)
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